1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ceiling fans. More particularly, this invention relates to down rods for ceiling fans that function to suspend a ceiling fan downwardly from a ceiling fan bracket assembly mounted to an electrical receptacle box in the ceiling.
2. Description of the Background Art
Motor-driven fans suspended from a ceiling were used extensively in homes in the United States to provide air circulation before the introduction and popularization of central cooling units.
When the energy crisis dawned in the 1970's, the cost of a kilowatt hour skyrocketed in price and consumers searched for ways to reduce their heating and cooling costs. It has been well established that properly circulated air will raise the overall thermal efficiency of the home air conditioning and cooling system and hence, reduce the cost of maintaining a home at a desired comfort level year-around. Thus, ceiling fans were repopularized in the 1970's.
Indeed, ceiling fans have become so popular that competitiveness in the industry often depends on the ease of installing one ceiling fan versus another. Hence, modern ceiling fans are designed with features that allow the do-it-yourselfer to quickly and easily install a ceiling fan. For example, hanger brackets have been optimized for ease in installation such as that disclosed in our co-pending patent application entitled "Ceiling Fan Bracket, Canopy and Canopy Hole Cover", Ser. No. 09/128,849, filed Aug. 4, 1998, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Most of such ease-of-installation designs comprise a hanger bracket that is intended to be mounted to the electrical receptacle box in the ceiling. The hanger bracket includes a socket portion for receiving a hanger ball rigidly mounted to the upper end of a hollow downrod. The lower end of the downrod is then connected to a motor coupler of the motor housing. A cotter pin is often provided for preventing the pin from working loose.
During assembly, the wires to the motor and to the light kit of the ceiling fan extend from the hollow motor shaft and are threaded through the hollow downrod for connection to the household wiring in the electrical receptacle box in the ceiling. Typically, the hanger ball is factory-installed to the upper end of the downrod by means of a hanger ball pin. During installation, the bundle of wires are threaded through the lower end downrod to extend upwardly therefrom, whereupon another safety pin is used for rigidly connecting the downrod to the coupler of the motor. The hanger ball is then fitted into the socket portion of the hanger bracket for suspension of the ceiling fan. The wires are then connected to the household wiring in the electrical receptacle box.
As may be appreciated, the pin for the hanger ball extends transversely through the downrod and thus at least partially obstructs the threading of the bundle of wires therethrough. Further, as may also be appreciated, once the bundle of wires is threaded through the downrod, they obstruct the insertion of the coupler pin through the coupler and the downrod. In other words, the coupler pin must be inserted through the holes on one side of the coupler and downrod, weaved through the bundle of wires to move them from one side to the other so that the end of the pin can be aligned with and inserted through the opposing holes in the downrod and coupler, without nicking or otherwise abrading any of the wires. Even if the wires are not nicked, the do-it-yourself installer often becomes frustrated with having to thread the bundle of wires through the downrod without being obstructed by the hanger ball pin and with having to connect the downrod to the coupler by weaving the coupler pin through the bundle of wires without damage to the wires.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need in the ceiling fan industry for increasing the ease in which down rods may be connected to the coupler of ceiling fans by do-it-yourself installers.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the ceiling fan art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan including a downrod, a coupler mounted to a ceiling fan motor, a coupler pin for insertion through holes in the downrod and corresponding holes in the coupler for rigidly securing the downrod and the coupler together; and a diverter for diverting motor wires extending from the ceiling fan motor to a non-obstructive position relative to the coupler pin, whereby the ceiling fan may be easily installed by a do-it-yourselfer installer.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan including a downrod a hanger ball, a hanger ball pin for insertion through holes in the downrod and corresponding seats in the hanger ball for rigidly securing the downrod and the hanger ball together, and a diverter for diverting motor wires extending from a ceiling fan motor to a non-obstructive position relative to the hanger ball pin.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan including a downrod, a coupler mounted to a ceiling fan motor, a coupler pin for insertion through holes in the downrod and corresponding holes in the coupler for rigidly securing the downrod and the coupler together, and a diverter for diverting motor wires extending from the a hollow motor shaft of a ceiling fan motor to a non-obstructive position relative to the coupler pin.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan including a downrod, a coupler mounted to a ceiling fan motor, a coupler pin for insertion through holes in the downrod and corresponding holes in the coupler for rigidly securing the downrod and the coupler together, and a hollow diverter sleeve that is press-fitted into the holes of the downrod and dimensioned to slidably receive the coupler pin.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.